Dynamic Market Order Execution Validation Mechanism

ABSTRACT

A system, method, and non-transitory computer-readable information recording medium allows a user or trader to prepare, and send to an exchange, a trade order using a trading device. The trading device receives market data from an exchange and displays the received market data on a display unit of the trading device. The trading device also receives a trade order instruction via an input device at the trading device and detecting an occurrence of a market update as a function of the received market data within an established trade order time period associated with a time at which the trade order was received. If the occurrence of the market update was detected during the established trade order time period, the execution of the trade order is prevented.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent document relates to U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/417,915, filed May 3, 2006, (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,389,264, issued Jun.17, 2008), U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/137,979, filed May 3,2002, (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,437,325, issued Oct. 14, 2008), U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/589,751, filed Jun. 9, 2000, (now U.S. Pat. No.6,938,011, issued Aug. 30, 2005), and U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/590,692, filed Jun. 9, 2000 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,132, issued Aug.3, 2004), the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

An electronic trading system generally includes a trading device incommunication with an electronic exchange. The electronic exchange sendsinformation about a market, such as prices and quantities, to thetrading device. The trading device sends messages, such as messagesrelated to orders, to the electronic exchange. The electronic exchangeattempts to match quantity of an order with quantity of one or morecontra-side orders.

The exchange is a central marketplace with established rules andregulations where buyers and sellers meet to trade. Some exchanges,referred to as open outcry exchanges, operate using a trading floorwhere buyers and sellers physically meet on the floor to trade. Otherexchanges, referred to as electronic exchanges, operate by an electronicor telecommunications network instead of a trading floor to facilitatetrading in an efficient, versatile, and functional manner. Electronicexchanges have made it possible for an increasing number of people toactively participate in a market at any given time. The increase in thenumber of potential market participants has advantageously led to, amongother things, a more competitive market and greater liquidity.

With respect to electronic exchanges, buyers and sellers may log onto anelectronic exchange trading platform by way of a communication linkthrough their user terminals or trading device. Once connected, buyersand sellers may typically choose which tradeable objects they wish totrade. As used herein, the term “tradeable object” refers to anythingthat can be traded with a quantity and/or price. It includes, but is notlimited to, all types of traded events, goods and/or financial products,which can include, for example, stocks, options, bonds, futures,currency, and warrants, as well as funds, derivatives and collections ofthe foregoing, and all types of commodities, such as grains, energy, andmetals. The tradeable object may be “real,” such as products that arelisted by an exchange for trading, or “synthetic,” such as a combinationof real products that is created by the user. A tradeable object couldactually be a combination of other tradeable objects, such as a class oftradeable objects.

To profit in electronic markets, market participants must be able toassimilate large amounts of data in order to recognize market trends andto view current market conditions. Screen space is often an importantfactor for a trader to consider when he/she sets up a tradingworkstation, since the screen space directly affects the trader'sability to quickly view and process market data. Many traders use onelarge monitor running at a very high resolution in an effort to get themaximum amount of data onto the screen. However, in today'sinformation-intensive markets, to be successful, traders often need tosimultaneously view multiple trading interfaces, charts, industry news,spreadsheets, as well as other information. Since eachapplication-created interface has at least one window, a single monitordoes not allow a trader to simultaneously view data on multiple windows,and the time it takes the trader to flip between the windows does notmake the single monitor the most optimal trading workspace solution.

The trading device typically includes tools which assist, and in someinstances, automatically prepare at least part of a trade order prior tothe trading finalizing and sending the trade order to the exchange. Oncethe trade order is prepared, the trading tools may allow the trader tofinalize and send the trade order to the exchange through a singleaction, e.g., a click or actuation of a button (via a mouse or atouchscreen input device). However, during the acting of generating thetrade order, e.g., movement of the mouse controlled cursor, the marketdata may have changed. Thus, it is possible that the trader does nothave sufficient time in which to read and understand any impact theupdated market data may have on the trade order.

The present invention is aimed at one or more of the problems identifiedabove.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Certain embodiments are disclosed with reference to the followingdrawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram representative of an exampleelectronic trading system in which certain embodiments may be employed.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of another example electronic tradingsystem in which certain embodiments may be employed.

FIG. 3A illustrates a block diagram of an example computing device whichmay be used to implement the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 3B illustrates a second block diagram of a computing or tradingdevice according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of a trading strategy which may beemployed with certain disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 5A illustrate a first instance of a display screen or window of atrading device for displaying market data and allowing a trader togenerate a trade order, according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5B illustrate a second instance of the display screen or window ofa trading device of FIG. 5A.

FIG. 5C illustrate a third instance of the display screen or window of atrading device of FIG. 5A.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a method associated with a trading device,according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7C illustrate embodiments of a notification window thatmay be presented in conjunction with the display screen or window of atrading device of FIGS. 5A to 5C.

Certain embodiments will be better understood when read in conjunctionwith the provided figures, which illustrate examples. It should beunderstood, however, that the embodiments are not limited to thearrangements and instrumentality shown in the attached figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates generally to a computer system which isused to electronically perform trades on an exchange, and moreparticularly, to a system which determines if market data has beenupdated during the time a trader is finalizing a trade order and if anupdate occurs (1) seeks confirmation of the trade order, and/or (2)allows the trader to cancel the order, and/or (3) allows the trader tomodify the order.

Although this description discloses embodiments including, among othercomponents, software executed on hardware, it should be noted that theembodiments are merely illustrative and should not be considered aslimiting. For example, it is contemplated that any or all of thesehardware and software components may be embodied exclusively inhardware, exclusively in software, exclusively in firmware, or in anycombination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. Accordingly, certainembodiments may be implemented in other ways.

I. Brief Description of Certain Embodiments

In a first aspect of the present invention, a method includes the stepsof receiving market data from an exchange at a trading device,displaying the received market data on a display unit of the tradingdevice, and receiving a trade order instruction via an input device atthe trading device. The method further includes the steps of detectingan occurrence of a market update as a function of the received marketdata within an established trade order time period associated with atime at which the trade order was received and preventing execution ofthe received order instruction if the occurrence of the market updatewas detected during the established trade order time period.

Further, if the execution of the received order instruction is preventedor otherwise delayed, the method may further allow a user of the tradingdevice to (1) confirm the received trade order at the price level, (2)cancel the trade order, and/or (3) enter a new price level. In anotherembodiment, if the execution of the received order instruction isprevented or otherwise delayed, the method may suggest alternate priceand/or available quantities that may satisfy one or more of the tradeorder requirements.

In a second aspect of the present invention, a trading device isprovided. The trading device is coupled to an exchange and is configuredto receive and display market data on a display unit. The trading deviceis configured to receive market data from an exchange at a tradingdevice, to display the received market data on a display unit of thetrading device, to receive a trade order instruction via an input deviceat the trading device, to detect an occurrence of a market update as afunction of the received market data within an established trade ordertime period associated with a time at which the trade order wasreceived, and to prevent execution of the received order instruction ifthe occurrence of the market update was detected during the establishedtrade order time period.

In a third aspect of the present invention, a non-transitorycomputer-readable information recording medium which stores a programfor controlling a computer to perform trade orders is provided. Theprogram is configured to operate the computer as a trading device. Thetrading device is coupled to an exchange and is configured to receiveand display market data on a display unit. The trading device isconfigured to receive market data from an exchange at a trading device,to display the received market data on a display unit of the tradingdevice, to receive a trade order instruction via an input device at thetrading device, to detect an occurrence of a market update as a functionof the received market data within an established trade order timeperiod associated with a time at which the trade order was received, andto prevent execution of the received order instruction if the occurrenceof the market update was detected during the established trade ordertime period.

II. Example Electronic Trading System

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram representative of an exampleelectronic trading system 100 in which certain embodiments may beemployed. The system 100 includes a trading device 110, a gateway 120,and an exchange 130. The trading device 110 is in communication with thegateway 120. The gateway 120 is in communication with the exchange 130.As used herein, the phrase “in communication” encompasses directcommunication and/or indirect communication through one or moreintermediary components. The exemplary electronic trading system 100depicted in FIG. 1 may be in communication with additional components,subsystems, and elements to provide additional functionality andcapabilities without departing from the teaching and disclosure providedherein.

In operation, the trading device 110 may receive market data from theexchange 130 through the gateway 120. A user may utilize the tradingdevice 110 to monitor this market data and/or base a decision to send anorder message to buy or sell one or more tradeable objects to theexchange 130.

Market data may include data about a market for a tradeable object. Forexample, market data may include the inside market, market depth, lasttraded price (“LTP”), a last traded quantity (“LTQ”), or a combinationthereof. The inside market is the lowest available ask price (bestoffer) and the highest available bid price (best bid) in the market fora particular tradable object at a particular point in time (since theinside market may vary over time). Market depth refers to quantitiesavailable at the inside market and at other prices away from the insidemarket. Due to the quantity available, there may be “gaps” in marketdepth.

A tradeable object is anything which may be traded. For example, acertain quantity of the tradeable object may be bought or sold for aparticular price. A tradeable object may include, for example, financialproducts, stocks, options, bonds, future contracts, currency, warrants,funds derivatives, securities, commodities, swaps, interest rateproducts, index-based products, traded events, goods, or a combinationthereof. A tradeable object may include a product listed and/oradministered by an exchange (for example, the exchange 130), a productdefined by the user, a combination of real or synthetic products, or acombination thereof. There may be a synthetic tradeable object thatcorresponds and/or is similar to a real tradeable object.

An order message is a message that includes a trade order. A trade ordermay be, for example, a command to place an order to buy or sell atradeable object, a command to initiate managing orders according to adefined trading strategy, a command to change or cancel a previouslysubmitted order (for example, modify a working order), an instruction toan electronic exchange relating to an order, or a combination thereof.

The trading device 110 may include one or more electronic computingplatforms. For example, the trading device 110 may include a desktopcomputer, hand-held device, laptop, server, a portable computing device,a trading terminal, an embedded trading system, a workstation, analgorithmic trading system such as a “black box” or “grey box” system,cluster of computers, or a combination thereof. As another example, thetrading device 110 may include a single or multi-core processor incommunication with a memory or other storage medium configured toaccessibly store one or more computer programs, applications, libraries,computer readable instructions, and the like, for execution by theprocessor.

As used herein, the phrases “configured to” and “adapted to” encompassthat an element, structure, or device has been modified, arranged,changed, or varied to perform a specific function or for a specificpurpose.

By way of example, the trading device 110 may be implemented as apersonal computer running a copy of X_TRADER®, an electronic tradingplatform provided by Trading Technologies International, Inc. ofChicago, Ill. (“Trading Technologies”). As another example, the tradingdevice 110 may be a server running a trading application providingautomated trading tools such as ADL™, AUTOSPREADER®, and/or AUTOTRADER™,also provided by Trading Technologies. In yet another example, thetrading device 110 may include a trading terminal in communication witha server, where collectively the trading terminal and the server are thetrading device 110.

The trading device 110 is generally owned, operated, controlled,programmed, configured, or otherwise used by a user. As used herein, thephrase “user” may include, but is not limited to, a human (for example,a trader), trading group (for example, group of traders), or anelectronic trading device (for example, an algorithmic trading system).One or more users may be involved in the ownership, operation, control,programming, configuration, or other use, for example.

The trading device 110 may include one or more trading applications. Asused herein, a trading application is an application that facilitates orimproves electronic trading. A trading application provides one or moreelectronic trading tools. For example, a trading application stored by atrading device may be executed to arrange and display market data in oneor more trading windows. In another example, a trading application mayinclude an automated spread trading application providing spread tradingtools. In yet another example, a trading application may include analgorithmic trading application that automatically processes analgorithm and performs certain actions, such as placing an order,modifying an existing order, deleting an order. In yet another example,a trading application may provide one or more trading screens. A tradingscreen may provide one or more trading tools that allow interaction withone or more markets. For example, a trading tool may allow a user toobtain and view market data, set order entry parameters, submit ordermessages to an exchange, deploy trading algorithms, and/or monitorpositions while implementing various trading strategies. The electronictrading tools provided by the trading application may always beavailable or may be available only in certain configurations oroperating modes of the trading application.

A trading application may include computer readable instructions thatare stored in a computer readable medium and executable by a processor.A computer readable medium may include various types of volatile andnon-volatile storage media, including, for example, random accessmemory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electricallyprogrammable read-only memory, electrically erasable read-only memory,flash memory, any combination thereof, or any other tangible datastorage device. As used herein, the term non-transitory or tangiblecomputer readable medium is expressly defined to include any type ofcomputer readable storage media and to exclude propagating signals.

One or more components or modules of a trading application may be loadedinto the computer readable medium of the trading device 110 from anothercomputer readable medium. For example, the trading application (orupdates to the trading application) may be stored by a manufacturer,developer, or publisher on one or more CDs or DVDs, which are thenloaded onto the trading device 110 or to a server from which the tradingdevice 110 retrieves the trading application. As another example, thetrading device 110 may receive the trading application (or updates tothe trading application) from a server, for example, via the Internet oran internal network. The trading device 110 may receive the tradingapplication or updates when requested by the trading device 110 (forexample, “pull distribution”) and/or un-requested by the trading device110 (for example, “push distribution”).

The trading device 110 may be adapted to send order messages. Forexample, the order messages may be sent to through the gateway 120 tothe exchange 130. As another example, the trading device 110 may beadapted to send order messages to a simulated exchange in a simulationenvironment which does not effectuate real-world trades.

The order messages may be sent at the request of a user. For example, atrader may utilize the trading device 110 to send an order message ormanually input one or more parameters for a trade order (for example, anorder price and/or quantity). As another example, an automated tradingtool provided by a trading application may calculate one or moreparameters for a trade order and automatically send the order message.In some instances, an automated trading tool may prepare the ordermessage to be sent but not actually send it without confirmation from auser.

An order message may be sent in one or more data packets or through ashared memory system. For example, an order message may be sent from thetrading device 110 to the exchange 130 through the gateway 120. Thetrading device 110 may communicate with the gateway 120 using a localarea network, a wide area network, a wireless network, a virtual privatenetwork, a T1 line, a T3 line, an integrated services digital network(“ISDN”) line, a point-of-presence, the Internet, and/or a shared memorysystem, for example.

The gateway 120 may include one or more electronic computing platforms.For example, the gateway 120 may implemented as one or more desktopcomputer, hand-held device, laptop, server, a portable computing device,a trading terminal, an embedded trading system, workstation with asingle or multi-core processor, an algorithmic trading system such as a“black box” or “grey box” system, cluster of computers, or anycombination thereof.

The gateway 120 may facilitate communication. For example, the gateway120 may perform protocol translation for data communicated between thetrading device 110 and the exchange 130. The gateway 120 may process anorder message received from the trading device 110 into a data formatunderstood by the exchange 130, for example. Similarly, the gateway 120may transform market data in an exchange-specific format received fromthe exchange 130 into a format understood by the trading device 110, forexample.

The gateway 120 may include a trading application, similar to thetrading applications discussed above, that facilitates or improveselectronic trading. For example, the gateway 120 may include a tradingapplication that tracks orders from the trading device 110 and updatesthe status of the order based on fill confirmations received from theexchange 130. As another example, the gateway 120 may include a tradingapplication that coalesces market data from the exchange 130 andprovides it to the trading device 110. In yet another example, thegateway 120 may include a trading application that provides riskprocessing, calculates implieds, handles order processing, handlesmarket data processing, or a combination thereof.

In certain embodiments, the gateway 120 communicates with the exchange130 using a local area network, a wide area network, a virtual privatenetwork, a T1 line, a T3 line, an ISDN line, a point-of-presence, theInternet, and/or a shared memory system, for example.

The exchange 130 may be owned, operated, controlled, or used by anexchange entity. Example exchange entities include the CME Group, theLondon International Financial Futures and Options Exchange, theIntercontinental Exchange, and Eurex. The exchange 130 may include anelectronic matching system, such as a computer, server, or othercomputing device, which is adapted to allow tradeable objects, forexample, offered for trading by the exchange, to be bought and sold. Theexchange 130 may include separate entities, some of which list and/oradminister tradeable objects and others which receive and match orders,for example. The exchange 130 may include an electronic communicationnetwork (“ECN”), for example.

The exchange 130 may be an electronic exchange. The exchange 130 isadapted to receive order messages and match contra-side trade orders tobuy and sell tradeable objects. Unmatched trade orders may be listed fortrading by the exchange 130. The trade orders may include trade ordersreceived from the trading device 110 or other devices in communicationwith the exchange 130, for example. For example, typically the exchange130 will be in communication with a variety of other trading devices(which may be similar to trading device 110) which also provide tradeorders to be matched.

The exchange 130 is adapted to provide market data. Market data may beprovided in one or more messages or data packets or through a sharedmemory system. For example, the exchange 130 may publish a data feed tosubscribing devices, such as the trading device 110 or gateway 120. Thedata feed may include market data.

The system 100 may include additional, different, or fewer components.For example, the system 100 may include multiple trading devices,gateways, and/or exchanges. In another example, the system 100 mayinclude other communication devices, such as middleware, firewalls,hubs, switches, routers, servers, exchange-specific communicationequipment, modems, security managers, and/or encryption/decryptiondevices.

III. Expanded Example Electronic Trading System

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of another example electronic tradingsystem 200 in which certain embodiments may be employed. In thisexample, a trading device 210 a is in communication with an exchange 230a through a gateway 220 a. The following discussion mainly focuses onthe trading device 210 a, gateway 220 a, and the exchange 230 a.However, the trading device 210 a may also be connected to andcommunicate with any number of gateways 220 n connected to exchanges 230n. The communication between the trading device 110 a and otherexchanges 230 n may be the same, similar, or different than thecommunication between the trading device 210 a and exchange 230 a.Generally, each exchange has its own preferred techniques and/or formatsfor communicating with a trading device, a gateway, the user, or anotherexchange.

The trading device 210 a, which may be similar to the trading device 110in FIG. 1, may include a server 212 a in communication with a tradingterminal 214 a. The server 212 a may be located geographically closer tothe gateway 120 than the trading terminal 214 a. As a result, the server212 a latency benefits that are not afforded to the trading terminal 214a. In operation, the trading terminal 214 a may provide a trading screento a user and communicate commands to the server 212 a for furtherprocessing. For example, a trading algorithm may be deployed to theserver 212 a for execution based on market data. The server 212 a mayexecute the trading algorithm without further input from the user. Inanother example, the server 212 a may include a trading applicationproviding automated trading tools and communicate back to the tradingterminal 214 a. The trading device 210 a may include, additional,different, or fewer components.

The trading device 210 a may communicate with the gateway 220 a usingone or more communication networks. As used herein, a communicationnetwork is any network, including the Internet, which facilitates orenables communication between, for example, the trading device 210 a,the gateway 220 a and the exchange 220 a. For example, as shown in FIG.2, the trading device 210 a may communicate with the gateway 220 aacross a multicast communication network 202 a. The data on the network202 a may be logically separated by subject (for example, prices,orders, or fills). As a result, the server 212 a and trading terminal214 a can subscribe to and receive data (for example, data relating toprices, orders, or fills) depending on their individual needs.

The gateway 220 a, which may be similar to the gateway 120 of FIG. 1,may include a price server 222 a, order server 224 a, and fill server226 a. The gateway 220 a may include additional, different, or fewercomponents. The price server 222 a may process price data. Price dataincludes data related to a market for one or more tradeable objects. Theorder server 224 a may process order data. Order data is data related toa user's trade orders. For example, order data may include ordermessages, confirmation messages, or other types of messages. The fillserver collects and provides fill data. Fill data includes data relatingto one or more fills of trade orders. For example, the fill server 226 amay provide a record of trade orders, which have been routed through theorder server 224 a, that have and have not been filled. The servers 222a, 224 a, 226 a may run on the same machine or separate machines.

The gateway 220 a may communicate with the exchange 230 a using one ormore communication networks. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, there maybe two communication networks connecting the gateway 220 a and theexchange 230 a. The network 204 a may be used to communicate market datato the price server 222 a. In some instances, the exchange 230 a mayinclude this data in a data feed that is published to subscribingdevices. The network 206 a may be used to communicate order data.

The exchange 230 a, which may be similar to the exchange 130 of FIG. 1,may include an order book 232 a and a matching engine 234 a. Theexchange 230 a may include additional, different, or fewer components.The order book 232 a is a database that includes data relating tounmatched quantity of trade orders. For example, an order book mayinclude data relating to a market for a tradeable object, such as theinside market, market depth at various price levels, the last tradedprice, and the last traded quantity. The matching engine 234 a may matchcontra-side bids and offers. For example, the matching engine 234 a mayexecute one or more matching algorithms that match contra-side bids andoffers. A sell order is contra-side to a buy order with the same price.Similarly, a buy order is contra-side to a sell order with the sameprice.

In operation, the exchange 230 a may provide price data from the orderbook 232 a to the price server 222 a and order data and/or fill datafrom the matching engine 234 a to the order server 224 a. Servers 222 a,224 a, 226 a may translate and communicate this data back to the tradingdevice 210 a. The trading device 210 a, for example, using a tradingapplication, may process this data. For example, the data may bedisplayed to a user. In another example, the data may be utilized in atrading algorithm to determine whether a trade order should be submittedto the exchange 230 a. The trading device 210 a may prepare and send anorder message to the exchange 230 a.

In certain embodiments, the gateway 220 a is part of the trading device210 a. For example, the components of the gateway 220 a may be part ofthe same computing platform as the trading device 210 a. As anotherexample, the functionality of the gateway 220 a may be performed bycomponents of the trading device 210 a. In certain embodiments, thegateway 220 a is not present. Such an arrangement may occur when thetrading device 210 a does not need to utilize the gateway 220 a tocommunicate with the exchange 230 a, for example. For example, if thetrading device 210 a has been adapted to communicate directly with theexchange 230 a.

Additional trading devices 210 b-210 e, which are similar to tradingdevice 210 a, may be connected to one or more of the gateways 220 a-220n and exchanges 230 a-230 n. Furthermore, additional gateways, similarto the gateway 220 a, may be in communication with multiple exchanges,similar to the exchange 230 a. Each gateway may be in communication withone or more different exchanges, for example. Such an arrangement may,for example, allow one or more trading devices 210 a to trade at morethan one exchange (and/or provide redundant connections to multipleexchanges).

IV. Example Computing Device

FIG. 3A illustrates a block diagram of an example computing device 300which may be used to implement the disclosed embodiments. The tradingdevice 110 of FIG. 1 may include one or more computing devices 300, forexample. The gateway 120 of FIG. 1 may include one or more computingdevices 300, for example. The exchange 130 of FIG. 1 may include one ormore computing devices 300, for example.

The computing device 300 includes a communication network 310, aprocessor 312, a memory 314, an interface 316, an input device 318, andan output device 320. The computing device 300 may include additional,different, or fewer components. For example, multiple communicationnetworks, multiple processors, multiple memory, multiple interfaces,multiple input devices, multiple output devices, or any combinationthereof, may be provided. As another example, the computing device 300may not include an input device 318 or output device 320.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the computing device 300 may include a processor312 coupled to a communication network 310. The communication network310 may include a communication bus, channel, electrical or opticalnetwork, circuit, switch, fabric, or other mechanism for communicatingdata between components in the computing device 300. The communicationnetwork 310 may be communicatively coupled with and transfer databetween any of the components of the computing device 300.

The processor 312 may be any suitable processor, processing unit, ormicroprocessor. The processor 312 may include one or more generalprocessors, digital signal processors, application specific integratedcircuits, field programmable gate arrays, analog circuits, digitalcircuits, programmed processors, and/or combinations thereof, forexample. The processor 312 may be a single device or a combination ofdevices, such as one or more devices associated with a network ordistributed processing. Any processing strategy may be used, such asmulti-processing, multi-tasking, parallel processing, and/or remoteprocessing. Processing may be local or remote and may be moved from oneprocessor to another processor. In certain embodiments, the computingdevice 300 is a multi-processor system and, thus, may include one ormore additional processors which are communicatively coupled to thecommunication network 310.

The processor 312 may be operable to execute logic and other computerreadable instructions encoded in one or more tangible media, such as thememory 314. As used herein, logic encoded in one or more tangible mediaincludes instructions which may be executable by the processor 312 or adifferent processor. The logic may be stored as part of software,hardware, integrated circuits, firmware, and/or micro-code, for example.The logic may be received from an external communication device via acommunication network such as the network 340. The processor 312 mayexecute the logic to perform the functions, acts, or tasks illustratedin the figures or described herein.

The memory 314 may be one or more tangible media, such as computerreadable storage media, for example. Computer readable storage media mayinclude various types of volatile and non-volatile storage media,including, for example, random access memory, read-only memory,programmable read-only memory, electrically programmable read-onlymemory, electrically erasable read-only memory, flash memory, anycombination thereof, or any other tangible data storage device. As usedherein, the term non-transitory or tangible computer readable medium isexpressly defined to include any type of computer readable medium and toexclude propagating signals. The memory 314 may include any desired typeof mass storage device including hard disk drives, optical media,magnetic tape or disk, etc.

The memory 314 may include one or more memory devices. For example, thememory 314 may include local memory, a mass storage device, volatilememory, non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof. The memory 314may be adjacent to, part of, programmed with, networked with, and/orremote from processor 312, so the data stored in the memory 314 may beretrieved and processed by the processor 312, for example. The memory314 may store instructions which are executable by the processor 312.The instructions may be executed to perform one or more of the acts orfunctions described herein or shown in the figures.

The memory 314 may store a trading application 330. In certainembodiments, the trading application 330 may be accessed from or storedin different locations. The processor 312 may access the tradingapplication 330 stored in the memory 314 and execute computer-readableinstructions included in the trading application 330.

In certain embodiments, during an installation process, the tradingapplication may be transferred from the input device 318 and/or thenetwork 340 to the memory 314. When the computing device 300 is runningor preparing to run the trading application 330, the processor 312 mayretrieve the instructions from the memory 314 via the communicationnetwork 310.

With particular reference to FIG. 3B, the output device 320 of thetrading device 300 may include a display unit 350 for displaying themarket data received from the exchange 130. The market data as usedherein may include additional information or data than the market datareceived directly from the exchange 130. For example, the market datamay also include data generated by the trading device 300 (as a functionof the market data received from the exchange 130 or otherwise), otherinformation (received from other sources), and a user interface, whichallows the trader to prepare and communicate trade orders to theexchange 130.

In one embodiment, the display unit 350 is a single display device. Inanother embodiment, the display unit 350 includes a plurality of devicedevices. In the illustrated embodiment, the display unit 350 includesfirst, second, third and fourth display devices 350A, 350B, 350C, 350D,although the present invention is not limited to any number of displaydevices. In one aspect of the present invention, the display devices350A, 350B, 350C, 350D are treated as a single large display, whereelements (such as windows) displayed thereon are freely moveable acrossthe separate display devices. In other aspect of the present invention,the display devices 350A, 350B, 350C, 350D are treated as a single largedisplay, however, the position of elements or blocks of information arepredetermined and generally fixed (although the position may beconfigurable).

A display manager 364 controls display of information on the displayunit 350 and/or display devices 350A, 350B, 350C, 350D.

V. Strategy Trading

In addition to buying and/or selling a single tradeable object, a usermay trade more than one tradeable object according to a tradingstrategy. One common trading strategy is a spread and trading accordingto a trading strategy may also be referred to as spread trading. Spreadtrading may attempt to capitalize on changes or movements in therelationships between the tradeable object in the trading strategy, forexample.

An automated trading tool may be utilized to trade according to atrading strategy, for example. For example, the automated trading toolmay AUTOSPREADER®, provided by Trading Technologies.

A trading strategy defines a relationship between two or more tradeableobjects to be traded. Each tradeable object being traded as part of atrading strategy may be referred to as a leg or outright market of thetrading strategy.

When the trading strategy is to be bought, the definition for thetrading strategy specifies which tradeable object corresponding to eachleg should be bought or sold. Similarly, when the trading strategy is tobe sold, the definition specifies which tradeable objects correspondingto each leg should be bought or sold. For example, a trading strategymay be defined such that buying the trading strategy involves buying oneunit of a first tradeable object for leg A and selling one unit of asecond tradeable object for leg B. Selling the trading strategytypically involves performing the opposite actions for each leg.

In addition, the definition for the trading strategy may specify aspread ratio associated with each leg of the trading strategy. Thespread ratio may also be referred to as an order size for the leg. Thespread ratio indicates the quantity of each leg in relation to the otherlegs. For example, a trading strategy may be defined such that buyingthe trading strategy involves buying 2 units of a first tradeable objectfor leg A and selling 3 units of a second tradeable object for leg B.The sign of the spread ratio may be used to indicate whether the leg isto be bought (the spread ratio is positive) or sold (the spread ratio isnegative) when buying the trading strategy. In the example above, thespread ratio associated with leg A would be “2” and the spread ratioassociated with leg B would be “−3.”

In some instances, the spread ratio may be implied or implicit. Forexample, the spread ratio for a leg of a trading strategy may not beexplicitly specified, but rather implied or defaulted to be “1” or “−1.”

In addition, the spread ratio for each leg may be collectively referredto as the spread ratio or strategy ratio for the trading strategy. Forexample, if leg A has a spread ratio of “2” and leg B has a spread ratioof “−3”, the spread ratio (or strategy ratio) for the trading strategymay be expressed as “2:−3” or as “2:3” if the sign for leg B is implicitor specified elsewhere in a trading strategy definition.

Additionally, the definition for the trading strategy may specify amultiplier associated with each leg of the trading strategy. Themultiplier is used to adjust the price of the particular leg fordetermining the price of the spread. The multiplier for each leg may bethe same as the spread ratio. For example, in the example above, themultiplier associated with leg A may be “2” and the multiplierassociated with leg B may be “−3,” both of which match the correspondingspread ratio for each leg. Alternatively, the multiplier associated withone or more legs may be different than the corresponding spread ratiosfor those legs. For example, the values for the multipliers may beselected to convert the prices for the legs into a common currency.

The following discussion assumes that the spread ratio and multipliersfor each leg are the same, unless otherwise indicated. In addition, thefollowing discussion assumes that the signs for the spread ratio and themultipliers for a particular leg are the same and, if not, the sign forthe multiplier is used to determine which side of the trading strategy aparticular leg is on.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of a trading strategy 410 which maybe employed with certain disclosed embodiments. The trading strategy 410includes “n” legs 420 (individually identified as leg 420 a to leg 420n). The trading strategy 410 defines the relationship between tradeableobjects 422 (individually identified as tradeable object 422 a totradeable object 422 n) of each of the legs 420 a to 420 n using thecorresponding spread ratios 424 a to 424 n and multipliers 426 a to 426n.

Once defined, the tradeable objects 422 in the trading strategy 410 maythen be traded together according to the defined relationship. Forexample, assume that the trading strategy 410 is a spread with two legs,leg 420 a and leg 420 b. Leg 420 a is for tradeable object 422 a and leg420 b is for tradeable object 422 b. In addition, assume that the spreadratio 424 a and multiplier 426 a associated with leg 420 a are “1” andthat the spread ratio 424 b and multiplier 426 b associated with leg 420b are “−1”. That is, the spread is defined such that when the spread isbought, 1 unit of tradeable object 422 a is bought (positive spreadratio, same direction as the spread) and 1 unit of tradeable object 422b is sold (negative spread ratio, opposite direction of the spread). Asmentioned above, typically in spread trading the opposite of thedefinition applies. That is, when the definition for the spread is suchthat when the spread is sold, 1 unit of tradeable object 422 a is sold(positive spread ratio, same direction as the spread) and 1 unit oftradeable object 422 b is bought (negative spread ratio, oppositedirection of the spread).

The price for the trading strategy 410 is determined based on thedefinition. In particular, the price for the trading strategy 410 istypically the sum of price the legs 420 comprising the tradeable objects422 multiplied by corresponding multipliers 426. The price for a tradingstrategy may be affected by price tick rounding and/or pay-up ticks.However, both of these implementation details are beyond the scope ofthis discussion and are well-known in the art.

Recall that, as discussed above, a real spread may be listed at anexchange, such as exchange 130 and/or 230, as a tradeable product. Incontrast, a synthetic spread may not be listed as a product at anexchange, but rather the various legs of the spread are tradeable at oneor more exchanges. For the purposes of the following example, thetrading strategy 410 described is a synthetic trading strategy. However,similar techniques to those described below may also be applied by anexchange when a real trading strategy is traded.

Continuing the example from above, if it is expected or believed thattradeable object 422 a typically has a price 10 greater than tradeableobject 422 b, then it may be advantageous to buy the spread whenever thedifference in price between tradeable objects 422 a and 422 b is lessthan 10 and sell the spread whenever the difference is greater than 10.As an example, assume that tradeable object 422 a is at a price of 45and tradeable object 422 b is at a price of 40. The current spread pricemay then be determined to be (1)(45)+(−1)(40)=5, which is less than thetypical spread of 10. Thus, a user may buy 1 unit of the spread, whichresults in buying 1 unit of tradeable object 422 a at a price of 45 andselling 1 unit of tradeable object 422 b at 40. At some later time, thetypical price difference may be restored and the price of tradeableobject 422 a is 42 and the price of tradeable object 422 b is 32. Atthis point, the price of the spread is now 10. If the user sells 1 unitof the spread to close out the user's position (that is, sells 1 unit oftradeable object 422 a and buys 1 unit of tradeable object 422 b), theuser has made a profit on the total transaction. In particular, whilethe user bought tradeable object 422 a at a price of 45 and sold at 42,losing 3, the user sold tradeable object 422 b at a price of 40 andbought at 32, for a profit of 8. Thus, the user made 5 on the buying andselling of the spread.

The above example assumes that there is sufficient liquidity andstability that the tradeable objects can be bought and sold at themarket price at approximately the desired times. This allows the desiredprice for the spread to be achieved. However, more generally, a desiredprice at which to buy or sell a particular trading strategy isdetermined. Then, an automated trading tool, for example, attempts toachieve that desired price by buying and selling the legs at appropriateprices. For example, when a user instructs the trading tool to buy orsell the trading strategy 410 at a desired price, the automated tradingtool may automatically place an order (also referred to as quoting anorder) for one of the tradeable objects 422 of the trading strategy 410to achieve the desired price for the trading strategy (also referred toas a desired strategy price, desired spread price, and/or a targetprice). The leg for which the order is placed is referred to as thequoting leg. The other leg is referred to as a lean leg and/or a hedgeleg. The price that the quoting leg is quoted at is based on a targetprice that an order could be filled at in the lean leg. The target pricein the hedge leg is also known as the leaned on price, lean price, orlean level. Typically, if there is sufficient quantity available, thetarget price may be the best bid price when selling and the best askprice when buying. The target price may be different than the best priceavailable if there is not enough quantity available at that price orbecause it is an implied price, for example. As the leaned on pricechanges, the price for the order in the quoting leg may also change tomaintain the desired strategy price.

The leaned on price may also be determined based on a lean multiplierand/or a lean base. A lean multiplier may specify a multiple of theorder quantity for the hedge leg that should be available to lean onthat price level. For example, if a quantity of 10 is needed in thehedge leg and the lean multiplier is 2, then the lean level may bedetermined to be the best price that has at least a quantity of 20available. A lean base may specify an additional quantity above theneeded quantity for the hedge leg that should be available to lean onthat price level. For example, if a quantity of 10 is needed in thehedge leg and the lean base is 5, then the lean level may be determinedto be the best price that has at least a quantity of 15 available. Thelean multiplier and lean base may also be used in combination. Forexample, the lean base and lean multiplier may be utilized such thatlarger of the two is used or they may be used additively to determinethe amount of quantity to be available.

When the quoting leg is filled, the automated trading tool may thensubmit an order in the hedge leg to complete the strategy. This ordermay be referred to as an offsetting or hedging order. The offsettingorder may be placed at the leaned on price or based on the fill pricefor the quoting order, for example. If the offsetting order is notfilled (or filled sufficiently to achieve the desired strategy price),then the strategy order is said to be “legged up” or “legged” becausethe desired strategy relationship has not been achieved according to thetrading strategy definition.

In addition to having a single quoting leg, as discussed above, atrading strategy may be quoted in multiple (or even all) legs. In suchsituations, each quoted leg still leans on the other legs. When one ofthe quoted legs is filled, typically the orders in the other quoted legsare cancelled and then appropriate hedge orders are placed based on thelean prices that the now-filled quoting leg utilized.

VI. Trade Order Generation at a Trading Device

In one aspect of the present invention, the user or trader is presentedwith a screen, window, or dialog which presents market informationrelated to a single tradeable object or contract. As described below,the market information may include both inside market information andmarket depth information. The screen, window, or dialog allows a user toview the information and to generate a trade order which may then besent to the exchange where it is filled if the conditions of the tradeorder are met. After the trade order has been sent to the exchange forexecution, the screen, window, or dialog may allow the trader to cancelor modify the order (before the order has been filled). A trade ordermay be an order to buy or sell a given number of a single tradeableobject or may contain multiple single orders of an object which has oneor more contingencies attached (see above). Several examples of screendisplays are described below for displaying market data and forgenerating the trade order. However, it should be noted that theseexamples are for discussion purposes only. The present invention is notlimited to particular screen, window or dialog for displaying the marketdata or for generating the trade order.

FIGS. 5A to 5C illustrate example trading displays disclosed anddescribed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,938,011 entitled “ClickBased Trading with Market Depth Display,” the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

In particular, FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate embodiments of a trading displayscreen which displays market data and allows the trader to generate atrade order.

The display of market depth and the manner in which traders trade withinthe market depth can be effected in different manners, which manytraders will find materially better, faster and more accurate. Inaddition, some traders may find the display of market depth to bedifficult to follow. In the trading display shown in FIG. 5A, the marketdepth is displayed vertically so that both Bid and Ask quantities arealigned adjacent to a common value axis. A vertical field is shown inthe figures and described for convenience, but the field could behorizontal or at an angle.

Bid quantities are displayed in the bid column 1003 (labeled BidQ), andask quantities are displayed in a corresponding ask column 1004 (labeledAskQ). The bid and ask columns 1003 and 1004 are aligned adjacent to avalue axis 1005. In the illustrated example, the value axis 1005includes multiple value levels representative of the prices for a givencommodity. The prices at each individual value level are divided intoticks representing the minimum price movement or increment for the givencommodity. The example value column 1005 does not list the whole prices(e.g. 95.89), but rather, just the last two digits (e.g. 89). In theexample shown, the inside market, cells 1020, is 18 (best bid quantity)at 89 (best bid price) and 20 (best ask quantity) at 90 (best askprice). In the preferred embodiment of the invention, these threecolumns are shown in different colors so that the trader can quicklydistinguish between them.

The values and prices displayed in the value column 1005 are consideredto be static in that the quantities displayed in the bid and ask columns1003 and 1004 move and change quickly relative to any movement or changeaffecting the position or location of the individual levels making upthe value column 1005. In certain embodiments, the values and pricesdisplayed in the value column 1005 may change positions in response to are-centering command, or other event triggering event such as themovement of the quantities displayed in the bid and ask columns 1003 and1004 relative to a range of value levels, or the passage of time from aprevious triggering event or any other detectable or measurable event.

The inside market and market depth ascend and descend as prices in themarket increase and decrease. For example, FIG. 5B shows a screendisplaying the same market as that of FIG. 5A but at a later intervalwhere the inside market, cells 1101, has risen three ticks. Here, theinside market for the commodity is 43 (best bid quantity) at 92 (bestbid price) and 63 (best ask quantity) at 93 (best ask price). Incomparing FIGS. 5A and 5B, it can be seen that the value column 1005remained static, but the corresponding bids and asks rose up the pricecolumn. Market Depth similarly ascends and descends the value column1005, leaving a vertical history of the market. In operation, a tradercan trade with single clicks of the right or left mouse button. Forexample, orders may be entered by right clicking and left clicking onthe BidQ field or the AskQ field.

Using the screen display and values from FIG. 5C, the placement of tradeorders using the illustrated trading display and trading method is nowdescribed using examples. Selection via a left mouse button click on the18 in the BidQ column 1201 sends an order to market to sell 17 lots(quantity # chosen on the Quantity Description pull down menu cell 1204)of the commodity at a price of 89 (the corresponding price in the Prccolumn 1203). Similarly, selection via a left mouse button click on the20 in the AskQ column 1202 sends an order to market to buy 17 lots at aprice of 90.

Selection using a right mouse button click, sends an order to market ata price that corresponds to the row selected or clicked for the totalquantity of orders in the market that equal or better the price in thatrow plus the quantity in the R field 1205. Thus, a right mouse buttonclick in the AskQ column 1202 in the 87 price row sends a sell order tomarket at a price of 87 and a quantity of 150. 150 is the sum of all thequantities 30, 97, 18 and 5. 30, 97 and 18 are all of the quantities inthe market that would meet or better the trader's sell order price of87. These quantities are displayed in the BidQ column 1201 because thiscolumn represents the orders outstanding in the market to purchase thecommodity at each corresponding price.

Similarly, a right click in the BidQ column 1201 at the same price levelof 87 sends a buy limit order to market for a quantity of 5 at a priceof 87. The quantity is determined in the same manner as above. In thisexample, though, there are no orders in the market that equal or betterthe chosen price—there are no quantities in the AskQ column 1202 thatequal or better this price. Therefore, the sum of the equal or betterquantities is zero (“0”). The total order entered by the trader will bethe value in the R field, which is 5.

VII. Dynamic Market Order Execution Validation Mechanism

With particular reference to the drawings, and in operation, the presentdisclosure provides an apparatus or trading device 110, a method 600,and a non-transitory computer-readable information recording medium forallowing a trader to view market data received from the exchange 130 onthe display unit 350 of the trading device 110.

With particular reference to FIG. 6, in one embodiment, the methodincludes the steps of receiving market data from an exchange 130 at atrading device 110 (step 602) and displaying the received market data ona display unit 350 of the trading device (step 604). In step 606, atrade order instruction is received via an input device 318 at thetrading device 110. In step 608, an occurrence of a market update isdetected as a function of the received market data within an establishedtrade order time period associated with a time at which the trade orderwas received. Execution of the received order instruction is preventedif the occurrence of the market update was detected during theestablished trade order time period (step 610).

As described above, the trader may utilize the displayed market data toformulate a trade order using an input screen, window or dialog. Thetrader may use an input device 318 at the trading device 110 informulating the trade order. Once the trade order has been formulated orput together and the trader has decided to submit the trade order to theexchange so that it may be executed by submitting the trade order to theexchange 130.

The input device 318 may be, or include one or more of the following: acomputer mouse, a trackpad, a keyboard, a touchscreen device (atouchscreen input device associated with the display unit 350), anon-contact order detection system or similar device. Depending on theinput device 318 being used, the trader actuates the input device 318,generally with respect to a predetermined portion of the input screen,window, or dialog, to submit the trade order to the exchange 130.

While the trader is actuating the input device, the market data may havechanged. The change or update in the market data may impact the tradeorder. In other words, if the trader was made aware of the update in themarket data, the trader would have decided to not proceed with the tradeorder or to modify the trade order.

For example, as described above, the trader may submit a trade orderusing a 1-click process which involves moving a cursor (not shown) onthe display unit 350 using a computer mouse to a specified position ondisplay, such as a virtual button. Once the cursor has reached thespecified position, the trader submits the trade order through clickinga mouse button. However, during the time the trader is moving the cursorand actuating the mouse button, the market data may have changed. In oneembodiment the updated market data may have been received at the tradingdevice 110, but not displayed. In another embodiment, the updated marketdata has been received at the trading device 110 and has been displayedon the display unit 350.

It should be noted that the operation of the trading device 110, i.e.,what occurs at the trading device 110, during the time period leading upto actuation of the input device 110 to submit the trade order isdependent upon the input device 318. For instance, if a touchscreendevice is used as the input device, a cursor may not be displayed on thedisplay unit 350. Therefore, actuation of the input device 318 andsubmission of the trade order may be based solely on actuation (or atouch) of the specified position on the display unit 350.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, the trading device 110 isconfigured to detect an occurrence of a market update as a function ofthe received market data within an established trade order time periodassociated with a time at which the trade order was received. In otherwords, a trade order time period may be established which relates to thetime at which the trader actuates the input device 318. In oneembodiment, the trade order time period of, for example, 100, 250 or 500milliseconds can be used to prevent entrance of an order upon detectionof a change in the market data. A wide range of trade order time periodsmay be established based on a trader's strategies, habits andpreferences. In one embodiment, the trade order time period has a starttime at some time prior to actual actuation of the input device 318 andhas an end time. The period of time between the start time and the endtime may be predetermined or configurable. Furthermore, the end time ofthe trade order time period may be before the actual actuation time,equal to the actual actuation time, or after the actual actuation time.

If the market update is detected during the trade order time period,than the trading device 110 prevents execution of the received orderinstruction. For instance in one embodiment, the trading device 110 doesnot transmit the trade order to the exchange in response to thedetection of the market update during the trade order time period.

In one embodiment, if the input device 318 is a computer mouse and thetrader utilizes the computer mouse to control a cursor on the displayunit 350, the trading device 110 detects if the cursor is moving duringthe trade order time period. The market update is detected if the cursoris moving and the market data has changed during the trade order timeperiod.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, if the trading device 110prevents execution of the trade order, as described, the trading device110 may be configured to correct the problem or cancel the order. Forexample, in one embodiment the trading device 110 may be configured toautomatically cancel the trade order of the market update is detected.The trading device 110 may provide a notice to the trader in response tothe automatic cancellation. The notice may take one or more of any form,including but not limited to a text message, e.g., in a dialog, audio,and visual. For example, the icon representing the cursor may betemporally changed in the event the trade is canceled.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the trader may benotified of the cancellation or prevention of trade order and providedan opportunity to confirm (or override the prevention) of the tradeorder at the original price level. FIG. 7A illustrates an example of anotification pop-up or dialog box 700 that may be presented to a traderwhen a trader order in the event that a change in market data has beendetected. The example dialog box 700 provider user controls to cancelthe trade order (element 702) and continue the order process (element704). The example dialog box 700 further includes controls to adjust(e.g., increase and decrease) the quantity (QTY element 706) and theprice (PRICE element 708) associated with the trader order. FIG. 7Billustrates another example of a notification pop-up or dialog box 720that may be presented adjacent to the price level 90 shown in FIG. 5A.For example, the dialog box 720 may appear after an order has beenentered via the trading display screens shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C. Theexample dialog-box 720 may further include a pointer or price indicatorportion 722 that may align with or otherwise indicate the price level atwhich the trade order was placed. The dialog box 720 further includesinterface controls to: cancel the trade order and close the dialog box(element 724); adjust the quantity associated with the trade order (QTYelement 726); adjust the price associated with the trade order (PRICEelement 728) and continue the order with the original or new orderparameters (element 730). FIG. 7C illustrates an example of anotification dialog 740 that may be presented to a user when a change inmarket data has been detected. The notification dialog 740 may furtherinclude a close or cancel element 744. In another embodiment, thenotification dialog 740 may be closed automatically after apredetermined perdio (e.g., 1 second, or 0.5 second).

Once a trade order has been sent to the exchange 130, the trade ordermay remain there until (1) its pre-conditions are met and the order isfilled, or (2) the trader cancels or modifies the trade order. In oneembodiment of the present invention, the trading device 110 may beconfigured to, once a trade order has been sent to the exchange 130,receive a cancel/modify trade instruction relative to the sent tradeorder.

The same issue may arise with respect to the cancel/modify trade orderinstruction and market update. Thus, the trading device 110 may beconfigured to detect market updates when a cancel/modify trade orderinstruction is received. In particular, the trading device 110 may beconfigured to detect an occurrence of a market update as a function ofthe received market data within an established cancel/modify time periodassociated with a time at which the cancel/modify trade instruction wasreceived. If a market update was received during the trade order timeperiod, the trading device 110 may be configured to prevent execution ofthe received cancel/modify trade instruction.

The trade order time may be defined in a manner similar to the tradeorder time period as described above.

Some of the described figures depict example block diagrams, systems,and/or flow diagrams representative of methods that may be used toimplement all or part of certain embodiments. One or more of thecomponents, elements, blocks, and/or functionality of the example blockdiagrams, systems, and/or flow diagrams may be implemented alone or incombination in hardware, firmware, discrete logic, as a set of computerreadable instructions stored on a tangible computer readable medium,and/or any combinations thereof, for example.

The example block diagrams, systems, and/or flow diagrams may beimplemented using any combination of application specific integratedcircuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)), fieldprogrammable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)), discrete logic, hardware, and/orfirmware, for example. Also, some or all of the example methods may beimplemented manually or in combination with the foregoing techniques,for example.

The example block diagrams, systems, and/or flow diagrams may beperformed using one or more processors, controllers, and/or otherprocessing devices, for example. For example, the examples may beimplemented using coded instructions, for example, computer readableinstructions, stored on a tangible computer readable medium. A tangiblecomputer readable medium may include various types of volatile andnon-volatile storage media, including, for example, random access memory(RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM),electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electricallyerasable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, a hard disk drive,optical media, magnetic tape, a file server, any other tangible datastorage device, or any combination thereof. The tangible computerreadable medium is non-transitory.

Further, although the example block diagrams, systems, and/or flowdiagrams are described above with reference to the figures, otherimplementations may be employed. For example, the order of execution ofthe components, elements, blocks, and/or functionality may be changedand/or some of the components, elements, blocks, and/or functionalitydescribed may be changed, eliminated, sub-divided, or combined.Additionally, any or all of the components, elements, blocks, and/orfunctionality may be performed sequentially and/or in parallel by, forexample, separate processing threads, processors, devices, discretelogic, and/or circuits.

While embodiments have been disclosed, various changes may be made andequivalents may be substituted. In addition, many modifications may bemade to adapt a particular situation or material. Therefore, it isintended that the disclosed technology not be limited to the particularembodiments disclosed, but will include all embodiments falling withinthe scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving market data froman exchange at a trading device; displaying the received market data ona display unit of the trading device; receiving a trade orderinstruction via an input device at the trading device; detecting anoccurrence of a market update as a function of the received market datawithin an established trade order time period associated with a time atwhich the trade order was received; and, preventing execution of thereceived order instruction if the occurrence of the market update wasdetected during the established trade order time period.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein input device is one of a computer mouse, a trackpad,a keyboard, a touchscreen device and a non-contact order detectionsystem.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the trading device displays acursor on the display unit and the cursor is controlled by the inputdevice, and wherein the step of preventing execution of the receivedorder instruction prevents execution of the received order if the marketupdate occurred within, and the cursor was moving during, theestablished trade order time period associated with a time at which thetrade order was received.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the tradeorder time period has an end which is after a time at which the cursorstops moving and/or the time at which the trade order was received. 5.The method of claim 1, wherein the display unit includes a touchscreendisplay, the input device being implemented by the touchscreen display.6. The method of claim 1 wherein the received trade order includes aprice level and if the execution of the received order instruction isprevented, allowing a user of the trading device to: confirm thereceived trade order at the price level; cancel the trade order; or,enter a new price level.
 7. The method of claim 1, including the stepsof: sending the received trade order instruction to an exchange of theif the occurrence of the market update was detected; receiving acancel/modify trade instruction relative to the sent trade order;detecting an occurrence of a market update as a function of the receivedmarket data within an established cancel/modify time period associatedwith a time at which the cancel/modify trade instruction was received;and, preventing execution of the received cancel/modify tradeinstruction if the occurrence of the market update was detected withinthe established cancel/modify time period.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the established trade order time has an end time which is afterthe time at which the trade order was received.
 9. The method of claim8, wherein the step of detecting an occurrence of a market update as afunction of the received market data within the established trade/ordertime period, includes the step of establishing a market update timeperiod, the market update time period has as an end time which is afterthe time at which the market update has occurred and wherein the step ofpreventing execution of the received order instruction preventsexecution of the received order instruction if the market update timeperiod overlaps the established trade order time period.
 10. The methodof claim 1, wherein the market data includes inside market data andmarket depth data, wherein the market update is a change within at leastone of the inside market data and the market depth data.
 11. Anapparatus, comprising: a trading device coupled to an exchange and beingconfigured to receive and display market data on a display unit, thetrading device being configured to: receive market data from an exchangeat a trading device; display the received market data on a display unitof the trading device; receive a trade order instruction via an inputdevice at the trading device; detect an occurrence of a market update asa function of the received market data within an established trade ordertime period associated with a time at which the trade order wasreceived; and, prevent execution of the received order instruction ifthe occurrence of the market update was detected during the establishedtrade order time period.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein theinput device is one of a computer mouse, a trackpad, a keyboard, atouchscreen device and a non-contact order detection system.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 11, wherein the trading device displays a cursor onthe display unit and the cursor is controlled by the input device, thetrading device, in preventing execution of the received orderinstruction, is configured to prevent execution of the received order ifthe market update occurred within, and the cursor was moving during, theestablished trade order time period associated with a time at which thetrade order was received.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein thetrade order time period has an end which is after a time at which thecursor stops moving and/or the time at which the trade order wasreceived.
 15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the display unitincludes a touchscreen display, the input device being implemented bythe touchscreen display.
 16. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein thereceived trade order includes a price level and if the execution of thereceived order instruction is prevented, the trading device beingconfigured to allow a user of the trading device to: confirm thereceived trade order at the price level; cancel the trade order; or,enter a new price level.
 17. The apparatus of claim 11, the tradingdevice being further configured to: send the received trade orderinstruction to an exchange of the if the occurrence of the market updatewas detected; receive a cancel/modify trade instruction relative to thesent trade order; detect an occurrence of a market update as a functionof the received market data within an established cancel/modify timeperiod associated with a time at which the cancel/modify tradeinstruction was received; and, prevent execution of the receivedcancel/modify trade instruction if the occurrence of the market updatewas detected within the established cancel/modify time period.
 18. Theapparatus of claim 11, wherein the established trade order time has anend time which is after the time at which the trade order was received.19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the trading device, in detectingan occurrence of a market update as a function of the received marketdata within the established trade/order time period, is configured toestablish a market update time period, the market update time period hasas an end time which is after the time at which the market update hasoccurred and, in preventing execution of the received order instruction,being further configured to prevent execution of the received orderinstruction if the market update time period overlaps the establishedtrade order time period.
 20. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein themarket data includes inside market data and market depth data, whereinthe market update is a change within at least one of the inside marketdata and the market depth data.
 21. A non-transitory computer-readableinformation recording medium which stores a program for controlling acomputer to performing trade orders and trade order verification at anexchange, the program configured to operate the computer as a: a tradingdevice coupled to an exchange and being configured to receive anddisplay market data on a display unit, the trading device beingconfigured to: receive market data from an exchange at a trading device;display the received market data on a display unit of the tradingdevice; receive a trade order instruction via an input device at thetrading device; detect an occurrence of a market update as a function ofthe received market data within an established trade order time periodassociated with a time at which the trade order was received; and,prevent execution of the received order instruction if the occurrence ofthe market update was detected during the established trade order timeperiod.